Welcome!

Welcome! I had promised myself that I would make it a point to blog throughout my pregnancy and keep far away loved ones involved should they choose to know what is going on with me. As with most other things, I find that I have procrastinated to the point that I am now 28 weeks pregnant and have not posted a single thing. Well, that ends today. I am determined to make this a priority because this is a very important event in the life of Vlad and I.

2 Tests for Good Measure

That being said, I found out that I was pregnant on August 15, 2011 (the day of my dear sister-in-law Aretha's birthday). It wasn't a shock and it was all at the same time. For those that know me, you know that at that time I was struggling with one of the most difficult times I have ever experienced--the loss of my Mom. I want to say that it gets better with time, but I would be lying. The further removed I am from that day, the harder it is to come to grips with the fact that I no longer have that everyday conversation nor will my child have that relationship with his grandmother. It is something that I deal with everyday in my own way. To find out mere weeks after losing her that we were expecting a baby was a shock and I started the "Why now?!" thought process. After a bit of reflection I realized, "Of course NOW!".

7 weeks

I am not one for spiritual signs or anything of that nature, but I realized in some way this was my mom's gift to me. From that point on, I took the timing as a blessing rather than a detriment. Due to this, I also knew that I was having a boy. In every conversation my Mom and I had we talked about the fact that I would have a boy for my first child--she truly believed this and I truly believed that I was going to have a boy. Of course, it took me 15 LONG weeks to wait and find out that we are indeed having a little baby boy (this is great since I have convinced myself of this). Let me make it clear that I did not care either way, but I had this instinct that we would have a boy.

Baby Boy @ 20 Weeks

Thus far I have to say that my pregnancy has been pretty uneventful--I spent the first 3 months feeling queasy, but since the first trimester it has been smooth sailing. I am entering my 3rd trimester this week and feel great. The pregnancy is one that I can't really put into words--it did not feel real at first, even after seeing the ultrasound and knowing that there was definitely a baby in there. However, the first time I felt him move and Vlad was really able to feel him, it became real. I look forward to his movements and can get really caught up in feeling every one of his kicks.

I am now in crazy "have to get the nursery done" mode. Thanks to dear friends Adam and Amanda (better known as Adamanda), we are going to have great furniture to put in the nursery. I have also been working on a personal project with another dear friend. Since my mom will be unable to be with me in the delivery room, I am bringing a piece of my mom to wrap around the baby at the hospital--a quilt made with her clothes. This was very important to me. You can see in the picture that it is not complete just yet, but if you knew how much effort went into this you would understand. Thanks Kat, for your patience in helping me make this a reality. That is really where we are at this point. It's exciting and scary and overwhelming all at the same time--yet, I can't wait to hold him for the first time.